Life in Photographs
by mad-dog13
Summary: Every Christmas Misty watches as Ash's photo collection grows. She doesn't see him grow up in real time, but in photographs, with the pictures of the friends he's made over the years. Each year, it makes her sadder. Light Pokeshipping


_Sorry I haven't updated my other fanfiction in a while, I wrote this story back around Christmas and posted it on tumblr but I figured I might post it here as well. Never posted a fanfiction for Pokemon on here so it was kinda interesting. Hope you enjoy. Another chapter of my ongoing story should be posted, I'm starting finals for school but once that's over I should be able to post something._

* * *

 ** _December 24_** ** _th_**

 ** _5:27pm_**

 ** _Five Years Since Departure:_**

Misty always spent Christmas with Delia Ketchum and their other acquaintances in Pallet Town. She didn't know how this came about but ever since her travels had ceased with Ash, she just always found herself at the Ketchum residence with wrapped gifts, extra baking, and a warm smile around the holiday season.

Her sisters joined her most years, Daisy in particular seemed to like teasing poor old Tracey, but as the years went on Misty suspected that her flirty older sister actually liked the guy. She couldn't blame her, Tracey waited on her hand and foot and adored her immensely, it also helped that he was a stable man with a bright future.

Ash was always absent from these gatherings, that was part of the reason Misty always visited. It was fairly obvious that Delia got lonely and missed her son dearly, particularly over Christmas, so Misty thought it a nice gesture to visit over the Winter Holidays. She wasn't Ash, but she was a friend of his, which did give Delia some comfort and familiarity. Professor Oak had pulled her aside one year and thanked her for coming, the more company the single mother had the better. Misty wished Ash would come home for Christmas sometime, but she realized that the life of a traveler was not a wealthy one, and he couldn't afford to come home as often as he might have liked.

This past year had been a busy one for Misty, working for the league as an Elite Four member was not an easy job, and it sucked time away and exhausted of her time. She did love it though, she had always been passionate about Pokémon and her occupation allowed her to continue to filter that passion and love her work.

Despite this she had almost missed this year's Christmas get together. That kind of sucked; there had been a crisis with preparations for next year's Pokémon league. Misty had barely caught her plane to Pallet, but lucky had managed to nullify the problem at work temporarily and make her flight on time. There would be a ton of work after the holidays, but it would be worth continuing her Christmas Traditions for.

Violet and Lily weren't coming this year, despite Misty's request. Lily was spending the week at her boyfriend's family's place and Violet had just had a baby so she and her husband preferred to stay in Cerulean City. Misty adored her little niece and Delia had been disappointed that she wouldn't be meeting Rose. At least Daisy had decided to make it this year and would arrive tomorrow morning.

As Misty walked down the snowy road to Pallet Town she smiled, her life hadn't turned out exactly as expected, but it she loved it all the same. Sure, as a child she dreamed of romance and pretty things, and yeah she was a little jealous that Violet was settled down with a family as well as a career, but Misty ignored those thoughts. She a month shy of eighteen, she was a member of the Elite Four, and she had a loving group of friends. That was enough.

When she reached the Ketchum house Misty could hear the muffled sounds of voices and laughter, the smell of Mimey and Delia's cooking spread and lingered outside the house. Misty shuffled her luggage and groceries in her hands so she could reach and press the doorbell.

Cries of excitement came from inside the house as she heard footsteps rushing towards the door.

"Misty!" Delia cried, attempting to hug her, but instead realized the young red head's hands were full and eased the load by taking the food.

"Thank you so much for the food, and Merry Christmas!"

Misty grinned happily and returned the season's greetings. She heard shouts from the sitting room calling her over,

"Bring your luggage upstairs and join your friends, Mimey and I are fine with the dinner."

"You sure?" Misty asked.

"Go on now," Delia chucked, "You'll have to tell me all about your first year as an Elite Four member when I'm done."

"Deal."

Stepping into the warm house kind of felt like stepping into home, this place had been the one constant in Misty's life over the past few years, the one thing that kept her family and friends knitted together. It was the one place her sisters and her dearest friends were able to meet all at once. Misty noticed that as people grew up, they grew apart and went their own ways, herself included. She no longer lived with her family or friends, so the Ketchum residence was the one place where everyone's crossroads met.

Before heading upstairs to put her bags in order she poked her head into the room to greet everyone else.

Brock, Gary, Tracey and Professor Oak sat in their usual seats by the tree and fire drinking eggnog and probably getting a slight bit tipsy,

"Don't have too much fun without me guys, I'll be right back down!" She laughed,

They all nodded and raised their glasses to her,

"Be down soon Mist," Brock insisted, "Or there'll be no eggnog left for you."

"Well contain yourselves because if I find that you three drank it all, I will have to go for blood, even if it is Christmas." She threatened playfully, they laughed but they knew she wasn't kidding. The fear in their eyes was proof of that.

Heading up the stairs she sighed to herself wondering what the next group picture in Ash's room would look like.

 ** _December 25_** ** _th_**

 ** _3:07am_**

 _ **One Year Since Departure**_

Misty lay in bed silently unable to sleep; she was of course too old to believe in Santa Claus, she was almost fourteen after all. Something else was keeping her awake, but she couldn't be sure of what it was.

She was at Ash's house, in his room actually, he wouldn't be home this year for Christmas and as she was staying with Delia while her sisters were touring, she was offered her friend's room to stay in.

It was exactly what she expected it to look like. It was clean, but not through Ash's endeavours (Mimey kept a clean home after all), but there was Pokémon paraphernalia everywhere. He had posters and figurines, the whole deal. He had always been the obsessive type, so she wasn't surprised when she found old tapes of Pokémon League Battles on his bookshelves instead of actual books.

She hadn't seen Ash since… well it would have been around four months ago now, when they had that whole run in with the Mirage Pokémon. It made her wonder what that idiot was up to; she suspected he was with Brock, and his other travelling companions, May and Max.

May and Max were pretty nice actually and from the limited time they'd spent together Misty had grown to like them. It was nice knowing that Ash had good people around him that cared for him; he was a little too stupid to make it out on his own.

Deciding sleep wasn't in the cards for her at the moment; Misty gave up on the idea and turned to her side. Ash kept a lot of photos next to his bed, it was kind of cute. There was one of him and his mum when he was a toddler, one of Ash and Gary when they were around six, and one of the first day of his Pokémon journey (Pikachu did not look pleased in that photo). She lightly smiled when she saw the photo of the two of them and Brock, she remembered that day. It was at Maiden's Peak, during the festival, all three of them were in their yukatas and wore huge smiles across their faces. It was a good memory, one she wouldn't forget.

There was another photo of Ash and his new traveling companions, they were all dressed in… strange medieval clothing, in some sort of ballroom. Misty blushed slightly at Ash's appearance, his outfit suited him, and she really did like that hat.

He was making new memories, Misty was glad of that, and she'd still be a small part of them maybe every once in a while.

After all distance shouldn't affect bonds.

Right?

 ** _December 23_** ** _rd_**

 ** _9:48pm_**

 ** _Two Years Since Departure_**

Ash hadn't come that year.

When Misty had arrived she could tell that Delia was a little upset, and it was understandable. That kid always had been the irresponsible type. Luckily this year all three of her sisters had joined her and quickly had Mrs. Ketchum out of her rut in no time.

Gary Oak had also joined them, which was a little awkward for Misty; they hadn't really talked much when she traveled with Ash. He was always just that guy who made Ash lose his temper easily and motivated him to get of his lazy butt and train, but Misty never really conversed with him at all.

Yawning as she opened the door to her old friend's vacant room she plopped her body into the bed. An early sleep would be essential since tomorrow would be a busy day so Misty had retired early to get a good night's rest.

Delia was still up with her company, Professor Oak, Gary, and her sisters. Their voices were more hushed after Misty had retreated to bed.

Misty looked at Ash's photographs again, there was one new one. She had spoken to Ash a couple times on the phone in the past year or so meaning she knew he had a new traveling companion but she hadn't met her. Dawn was her name… she was pretty sure.

In the picture was Brock, Ash, and Dawn. Were they at a Pokémon Contest? Misty had watched the Wallace Cup, and she was sure that wasn't where they were. Either way, they looked happy. Discontent settled in Misty's stomach for some reason.

"Reminiscing?" A familiar voice inquired. Misty turned her head to see Gary approaching her with a smile. She wasn't used to that sort of genuine expression on his face but she supposed he had changed over the years and softened up a bit.

"A little," She admitted.

"I remember when that was taken," He said pointing to the picture of him and Ash as kids playing in Oak's lab, "That was back before I became a dick."

"Aw don't feel too bad, you're tolerable now, and that was before Ash became an idiot so no one can blame you." Misty teased.

"Correction, Ash was always an idiot."

"Fair enough."

There were a few moments of silence before Misty asked, pointing at the most recent addition to Ash's collection of pictures,

"Where was this taken, do you know?"

"Jubilife City," Gary answered simply.

"Who won the contest?"

"Neither of them, some girl named Zoey."

"I think I remember her, May defeated her in the Wallace Cup." Misty recalled, "Didn't she also win Top Coordinator?"

Gary shrugged, and they were silent once more.

"Say Gary…" Misty began after a while, "Did you meet Dawn?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What's she like?"

"Jealous?" He snickered, sounding a lot like his old self.

Misty blushed and replied indignantly,

"Of course not, I was just curious!"

"Sure, sure," He waved her off, "I think we both know you had a huge crush on him for the longest time, sorry he was too thick to notice."

Misty could feel her face getting hotter; never in her life did she have a crush on Ash Ketchum, no way!

"Don't worry Waterflower, she's a nice girl, I met her while I was in Sinnoh. You have nothing to fear since Ashy boy is as dense as ever."

"Gary, you're a dick." Misty stated, forcing herself not to inquire after Ash and Brock's conditions.

"At least I admit it."

Misty crossed her arms and pouted as he exited the room, she had nothing to admit. She was simply curious about how her friends were, anyone would be.

Misty stared out the snow covered window and watched the condensation drip down the glass, looking back at the photos she sighed.

Who was she kidding?

Not Gary Oak, that's for sure.

 ** _December 26_** ** _th_**

 ** _6:09am_**

 ** _Three Years Since Departure_**

Misty panted as she entered the warm house, she'd been out for a long run early that morning which nearly froze her to death, but it got her blood pumping through her veins. After stepping into a hot shower and she got out and dried her red hair out, which really needed to be cut judging by the split ends and chlorine damage from the pool.

It had been a nice Christmas, everyone she wanted to be there was there (except for Ash of course as he was still journeying). Even Brock had managed to visit Christmas Eve for a few hours before heading to Pewter to celebrate with his own family. Violet was engaged, and Lily had caught Daisy snogging Tracey under a branch of mistletoe, which thrilled Delia. That woman loved a good romance. Misty was happy that she wasn't the only single pringle of the bunch and she didn't have to be surrounded by couples. Judging by Gary's expressions last night, he was too.

She sat on the side of Ash's bed, and sighed. Before she had gotten here Karen of the Elite Four, who recently become a good friend of hers, told her something. Agatha, one of the members, would be retiring in the next couple of years, and they needed a replacement. Misty had laughed, but Karen hadn't been joking. Karen said that Lance, the current champion wanted to pick from the gym leaders.

Yeah, Misty fit that category, but there were much more experienced gyms than hers. Karen had told her nothing had been decided yet, but if Koga decided against it, Misty was the second choice. That was a little rattling. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone either so she had to contemplate this in agony.

Thank goodness the holidays had kept her mind off of it for a while; it was a topic that was best not thought about at the moment.

Instead of dwelling on her problems she stared at Ash's photos, it was becoming a yearly tradition for her, snooping in on Ash Ketchum's private life.

She could admit her crush now. Yes, when they traveled Misty did harbour awkward feelings towards him, those feelings were gone now, but her loyalty and the memories still remained. Ash hadn't been in contact with her for a long time, he was busy and she knew that. It still stung though.

The new photo had very different group of people surrounding Ash, a well-dressed green haired man, and small girl with crazy purple hair and a dark skin tone smiled next to him. Misty couldn't help but smile either as she saw he familiar Pokémon they were posing with, Charizard. She hadn't known the fire type had begun traveling with Ash again. It really brought back memories.

Her grin faded when she realized something, she no longer had a connection physically with Ash. Brock was studying to become a doctor and wasn't traveling with him anymore. Knowing he had Brock had been a comfort to her, but now she knew nothing of her old friend's comings and goings. It made her sad.

It wasn't completely his fault they weren't in contact, Misty had been equally busy and never reached out. As time passed, it became harder to pick up the phone and call.

However, even with their lack of communication there was still a sense of… almost responsibility that she had towards him. He was younger, she taught him and been a sort of mentor for him when he was a rookie, they traveled together a year, she previously had romantic feelings for him, and he was a good person. How could she not want to know he was safe and happy?

There wasn't really an answer for that, only more questions, questions Misty didn't dare answer.

 ** _December 28_** ** _th_**

 ** _8:34am_**

 _ **Four Years Since Departure**_

Misty sat with Brock in Ash's room. The room hadn't changed a bit since… well since forever. The only thing that changed was his photos and there were more this year as well. She and Brock were packing their things to head back home, the Holidays were over, it was time to go back to reality.

"I'm glad you made it up here this year Brock," Misty said lightly, "I've missed having you around."

"Yeah, getting older pulls you in a million different directions does it not?" He agreed, "I like that we can depend on Christmas to meet up. It's funny, we don't see each other for a year and the second everyone gathers it's like no time has passed."

"We're lucky then, huh? You're so busy with school and I'm…"

"About to become the next member of the Indigo League Elite Four?" Brock grinned.

"Aw, shut up." Misty blushed, elbowing him playfully, her smile faded as she then admitted, "Y'know I'm kind of scared."

Brock raised an eyebrow inquisitively,

"About you promotion? Because you know you can do it."

"No," She sighed, "Just that I don't know if it will always be this way. Nothing lasts forever."

"No nothing does, but you can preserve it as long as you can."

Misty rubbed her forehead as she looked at the new photographs of his Kalos travel group. It was obvious even in the photo that the older girl had her own little crush on Ash. Misty felt no jealousy; she felt she connected with that girl. Ash was charismatic, kind, funny, and easy to fall for, Misty couldn't blame the girl one bit. The only thing about Ash was that he left people behind, and moved forward on his own path.

"Do you think he's forgotten about us?" Misty asked quietly, "I mean, I can't remember the last time I talked to him."

Brock was silent for a moment,

"You made a choice years ago, not to continue journeying with Ash, I made that choice more recently. Ash can't help but make friends wherever he goes, people are drawn to him, and it makes him a popular guy. That doesn't change the fact that we made the choice to leave, to not stay with him. He would have gladly had us, and I think you know that. He makes friends, but let me tell you, he talked about you to Dawn all the time; he still has your fishing lure, when I met his friends from Unova, y'know what they said to me? They inquired about our first journey and were curious about you. So no, Ash hasn't forgotten us, he treasures our friendship in his heart and it's what keeps him going. He loves every single person he's traveled with Misty, but we're the only ones he's called his best friends."

Misty was at a loss, not sure what to say, she fought back tears of guilt. She had stored up undeserved anger towards Ash and she didn't even realize it until now. All this time she felt thrown away, like she was the only one who remembered, but apparently Ash remembered too.

"You know what Misty?" Brock continued wrapping his arm around Misty's shoulders.

"What?" She mumbled back.

"When you see him again it will be the same, as if no time has passed."

And Misty couldn't help but want to believe him.

 ** _December 24_** ** _th_**

 ** _6:02pm_**

 ** _Five Years Since Departure_**

Misty hauled her luggage up the stairs and into her usual quarters, Ash's bedroom. When she opened the door she saw she was not exactly alone.

No lights were no in the room, a silhouette sat on the edge of the bed, staring intently at the photos Misty observed every year. When the person noticed her presence they turned around.

"Mist?"

"Ash…"

It was him. Standing right in front of her. Ash. And she found herself completely stupefied, heart pounding in her chest. How humiliating.

The atmosphere was cautious, it had been so long after all and the poor boy probably had no idea how she would react to any of this. Misty didn't even know if she knew how to react. They didn't say anything for a few moments before Misty spoke,

"Add any new pictures this year?"

Wow, smooth that was the first thing that came out of her mouth? Really? That was the best she could do?

"Nope," He replied, slightly confused by the question. It was only natural he would be, they hadn't spoken in ages and she decides to ask him about his damn photographs.

"I look at them every year and there always is a new one." Misty pointed out lamely.

"I'm traveling on my own this year, just me and Pikachu, he's downstairs with Mum."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence for a minute,

"No one told me you were coming."

"No one told me you were either."

Misty sighed; of course things would work out that way, which was why they were both dumbstruck. They must have looked like idiots, not sure whether to hug or shake hands so they stood awkwardly and stuttered out something akin to conversation.

"How'd you make it this year?" Misty asked quietly, "You haven't since I left."

"I was in the area." He admitted, "I'm traveling through Kanto again and found out a certain gym had been closed down, and someone had been kind enough to tell me that that gym leader was now part of the Elite Four. It was weird; I swear I knew that person because they battled me for a badge back when I was ten."

She could see a tentative smile grow into a toothy grin that spread across his face, one that made her heart skip a beat, typical of him.

Misty stared at the teen in front of her, they both had changed but this was still Ash, his voice was lower than the last time he spoke and he was taller (though still shorter than her), but he was still the ten year old she fished out of the lake, the ten year old that owed her a bike, the ten year old she loved dearly. She was still the piss pot red head with a bad temper and sappy crush on her travel companion. Dammit.

Brock had been right, nothing really had changed.

Misty couldn't help it, a playful smirk spread across her face as she taunted him,

"Yeah, looks like that gym leader surpassed you, not that it would have been that hard, you always were a screw up."

Ash barked out a laugh,

"Wait until I win the league and then we'll see who surpasses who when I battle her and become champion."

"That is _if_ you can even get eight badges, that gym leader never did have much confidence in your abilities."

There was a pause in the conversation and before Misty knew it she and Ash made a movement towards each other and embraced tightly, his arms were stronger and he was had almost caught up to her in height, but it still felt familiar.

"I really did miss you." He whispered.

"I'd miss me too."

"Remind me to hit you later."

"Just enjoy the moment Ash, just enjoy the moment."

"I will hit you."

"And I will hit back, and you know it."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," He chuckled into her hair.

"Damn straight."

"You always were a brat."

"You'll see more of this brat now that you're traveling here."

"Aren't I the lucky one?"

"Aren't you?" Misty said despite the fact that she was pretty sure it was the other way around.

She had her best friend back, and even if it was for a moment, it was perfect.

Ash pulled away and gripped her shoulders, holding her in front of him,

"Wanna see Pikachu? He's itching to see ya!"

"Oh hell yes, I missed that little guy so much!"

"And me too?"

"No, Ketchum, just… no."

He feigned offense as he put a hand to his heart dramatically,

"You know how to cut a man deep Mist."

"Wouldn't be me if I didn't," She pointed out then grabbed his hand, leading him to the doorway, "Now I want to see Pikachu, and exchange stories because my life is hella exciting and you need to hear about it."

"Yes ma'am," He chuckled sarcastically as he gripped her hand tightly and followed her down the stairs, "You really didn't miss me?"

"Not a lick."

But that was a lie, she knew it, Ash knew it too, but this was what they were. Sarcastic banter was their thing, teasing was their default, that was them. Maybe not what they would always be, but for now, it was much more than enough, and Misty knew that if that was all she ever got from Ash Ketchum, she would be happy.

Because distance doesn't affect bonds.

Not at all.


End file.
